AUGUST 25TH 2023

"Paul." Orla shouted up the stairs, the fourth time she'd had to do so. Unaware he was staring at his phone. "What's the matter? Have your waters broke?" He asked from up the stairs, the pitch of his raising slightly as he worried. "No, my water hasn't broken, I need you to come here." Orla exclaimed.

"You scared me." He said as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs. "I don't know why you think she's coming early." Orla shook her head at the idea, then she watched as he entered. "Nell said my mother had a strong feeling about it being early." Paul shrugged.

"We're having a girl, can you stop calling her an it." Orla asked him dryly. "Habit, Sorry." He grimaced.

"I tell you what, If you still love me in three years I'll get pregnant again." Orla teased. "I'll love you till the day I die." Paul told Orla before giving her a small kiss, guilt eating at him, his phone felt as though it would burn his hand and reveal his sins, and the blackmail esque messages he was receiving.

"You two are so in love with each-other it makes me sick." Tilly said from across the Kitchen island jokingly.

"Hello to you too Matilda." Paul greeted "Paulette." Tilly grinned. "Look, The decoration man is going to be here in a quarter of an hour, I'm getting stuff ready outside, Taron's getting the food here, all you need to do is open the door for the caterers while Orla goes and gets ready." Tilly ordered, she had a knack for controlling events, Orla did not.

"Don't I need to get ready too?" Paul questioned "Paul, I love you, but" Orla had begun.

"That's my cue to wait in the living room then." He said with a dry chuckle, turning his feet towards the living room.

"Ivy's in there, im sure she'll enjoy spending some time with you before everyone arrives." Orla said softly, Ivy had always been a Daddy's Girl.

"What's she watching? Not frozen again?" Paul let out a small groan, he detested the film."Yeah, Luckily it's the second one this time. I'm going to have to block Let it go from our Alexa." Orla nodded.

"I finally get what those mams were on about it 2013." Paul muttered, "I don't mind it." Tilly shrugged. "Listen to it fourteen times an hour you'll get sick of it." Orla told her best friend "Go and get ready, I'll try and bribe her to watch something else." Paul told Orla.

"See you in an hour." Orla said kissing his cheek before going up the stairs.

orlafinneran posted to stories

bigbreadpedlar liked your story

By the time Orla was back downstairs people had already began arriving. Paul, having heard her coming down the stairs walked to the bottom steps and held his hand out for Orla to take. She took it and planted a kiss on his cheek as she arrived next to him, his beard rubbed against her chin, she used to complain about it, but now she was used to it.

Paul and Orla walked into the living room, where Orla's mother was stood, leant over the cake. "Hi Siobhan." Paul greeted. Siobhan turned to face them and then rushed to hug them both.

"I missed you two." Siobhan told them as she pulled away from the hug, with Gladiator filming and then Siobhan working they'd not seen eachother in a while. "We missed you too, That cake looks brilliant, thank you Mammy" Orla thanked her mother.

"Emma made it, I think I'll get her to do your engagement one too." Siobhan told her daughter.

"We're going to be so busy we might just skip it." Orla admitted, Paul was insanely busy, Orla was, and the baby just added more chaos into the mix.

"Well.. She can make one for your birthday then." Siobhan nodded, holding back on the fact that she had already paid Emma in advance to make another cake.

"Sure Mam." Orla agreed.

"Are your brother's coming?" Siobhan asked her daughter, Orla shook her head.

"Scott's in Ibiza. Adam's doing Strictly and I haven't spoken to Ryan since Morocco so." Orla explained, Paul scowled at the mention of Ryan. Siobhan shook her head dissaprovingly.

"Who'd you invite?" Paul asked Siobhan. Trying to avoid the topic of Orla's elder brothers

"Sheila, Charlie, Catherine, James, Steve's coming too, Ollie said he'd try but he's not sure. Sherry might.. who am I missing.. Johnny, he's said he's sending you a gift but he can't make it. Tim and Denise are doing the same, seprately obviously." 

"Wait, James who?" Paul questioned.

"Norton, you met him at Mammy's 52'nd Birthday Party remember, He calls me kid all the fucking time." Orla explained.

"Oh, Right." Paul nodded

"Taron's out the back." Siobhan told Paul, Orla practically shoved Paul out of the way as she made her way to the back Garden. By the time Paul caught up with her she and Taron were hugging.

"Missed you, you tall bastard." Orla said as the two pulled apart, Orla looked over to Paul and back to Taron, remembering the last time the two had shared a room. "Taron, Paul, Paul, Taron." Orla said pointing to each of them as she said their names, Introducing them to one another.

The two awkwardly waved at one another. "We sat on same table at the SAG Awards in Feb." Paul told Orla. Orla nodded and slowly started stepping away, Taron had become more and more of a brother to her, her own brother's hadn't even messaged her today, or at all this week, Taron messaged her far more often than Adam, the brother she talked to most did. 

Taron was about to reply when Iris Rhodri, one of Orla's closest friends outside of work as a kid. The two rarely saw eachother recently but their friendship was still very strong.

"Iris!" Orla jumped up and began rushing to her friend who held a toddler in her arms.  "Oh Hello Sweetheart." Orla cooed over the girl, the child's twin, was in Arnas Fedaravicius' arms.

"You look beautiful." Iris told Orla as they hugged.

"Thank you, the twins have grown up so much, they're adorable." Orla replied with a grin.

"I know, I just want them to stop growing. Let me see that ring of yours." Orla held her hand up and showed Iris who grinned. "Are you thirsty? We've got a cooler full of pop and some alcohol in the back of the garden." Orla offered.

"We have?" Paul asked from a distance.

"Yeah, I had Tilly set it up before you came downstairs. Just don't get hammered please." Orla told her fiancé.

"I won't." Paul said approaching them and kissing her cheek before making his way for the back of the garden.

"Does everyone know you two are engaged?" Iris asked her friend.

"No. My brothers don't, a lot don't, I just wanted to keep it to myself and my friends for a bit." Orla explained.

After half an hour almost everyone had arrived, Paul had shockingly, invited more people than Orla thought he would, which meant it was a little crowded. Ivy was sat in Daisy's lap as they sat across from Orla. "Paul told me you two are engaged." Daisy spoke suddenly, it took Orla by surprise.

"Yeah. We sort of decided that had we not broken up we probably would've been engaged or something by now so." Orla explained, In all honesty she still wasn't sure what had happened between Paul and Phoebe. He didn't want to speak on it, so she didn't push on it.

"I think it's good, and plus, Ivy having you both with her is probably solidifying that you both love her. One of my friends has always had issues because of it." Daisy said.

"Yeah, I felt the same when I was younger, I don't know how to explain it." Orla nodded.

"At least you broke up when Ivy was still relatively young, when they're older it's harder." Daisy replied.

"Yeah, my brothers were upset about their parents. I never really had a proper dynamic like that." Orla said, she had been thinking about her brothers a lot more than she cared to admit lately. "They're not here?" Daisy questioned.

"No." Orla shook her head "Ryan's been ignoring me ever since he found out, Scott's in Ibiza and Adam's training for Strictly, so I haven't seen any of them in a while."  Orla shrugged.

"You've got us though, Ella and I are better uncles." Daisy joked which caused Orla to chuckle.

Maggie Ifans walked through the crowd with Sam Fender, and Iris' twin brother Tom as well as Magnolia. "Look at you! You look stunning." Maggie told Orla.

"Mags! I missed you." Orla said as they hugged. Maggie turned to Ivy and smiled. Sam was stood behind the group of women awkwardly. "Sam, the men are in a back corner of the garden drinking pints, so you can go with them if you want." Orla offered, Sam nodded and took that as his cue to go to them, Tom followed.

Faye hurried in shortly afterwards, Practically dragging Harry Lewis by his shirt. "Gosh look at you, you look gorgeous" Faye told Orla who grinned. "So do you, How's Rory doing?" Orla asked as Harry began wandering off with the baby

"She's brilliant, still obsessed with her dad though." Faye chuckled softy. "God, Ivy was the same, she'll probably grow out of it though."

"You need to tell her." Harry muttered as he and Paul stood next to one another. "I can't." Paul groaned.

"You can, You just want to save face and hope she doesn't find out, Freya's a fucking nutter, She will send those photos to Orla."  Harry told the elder of the two. "It would send her into an early labour." Paul retorted.

"Don't do that." Harry told him sharply. "Do what?" Paul questioned. "Use your baby as an excuse."

"That's not what I'm doing." Paul began in a defensive tone, Harry stopped him. "It is though mate. You need to tell her, before she finds out from Freya, or even worse from the news." Harry told Paul sternly.

"I know I should tell her, I just, we're so good at the moment, and now this all resurfaces." Paul groaned  "You should have told her about Freya when you first broke up."

"She would never have gotten back with me." Paul said defensively, Though even he knew Orla would have, she had a forgiving nature when it came to the men in her life.

"She probably would have, now though, you kept this from her for far too long, you need to tell her soon. If not, your just proving that every bad thing her brothers whispered into her ears about you is true."

"Tell her about what?" A voice cut through from behind them.

Luckily for Paul, it was a cast mate of Orla's, and not Orla herself. "Oh nothing. Just a surprise that's all." Paul lied, the co star nodded but remained skeptical as she walked off.

"If you don't tell her soon someone will, wether that's Freya, or me" Harry told Paul, his tone one of irritation.

dontechlostan posted to stories

GWEN TALKS......
finally have a clear little plan.